1. Technical Field
The present disclosure relates to a method of attaching end effectors to surgical instruments. More particularly, the present disclosure relates to surgical instruments and attachable end effectors and a method of remotely attaching end effectors to miniature laparoscopic surgical instruments within the body of a patient.
2. Background of Related Art
During various surgical procedures it is often necessary to assemble components of surgical instruments together within a body cavity of a patient or operative site. This may be necessary due to the construction of the surgical instrument itself or to minimize the size of incisions through a body wall of the patient. This is particularly true when the surgical instrument is relatively small and/or utilizes a relatively small size incision. It may additionally be done to exchange operative portions or end effectors of the surgical instrument within the body cavity during the operation without having to remove the entire instrument.
Current surgical instruments with exchangeable end effectors typically require multiple connection shafts to allow for attachment within the body cavity. The use of these multiple shafts may result in a relatively weak connection and can minimize the force available to be supplied to the end effector. Additionally, these multi-shaft connections require that the end effector be positioned substantially or directly in line with a shaft of the surgical instrument to perform the connection. This is difficult to accomplish in small spaces and requires precise alignment of the components prior to attachment. Still further, some sort of additional step is required to lock or secure the end effector to the shaft of the surgical instrument to complete the connection.
Therefore, there exists a need for a method of attaching an end effector remotely to a surgical instrument without the above complications. There also exists a need for an end effector which minimizes the number of connecting shafts to strengthen the connection. There further exists a need for an end effector which can initially accept the shaft of the surgical instrument at an angle rather than directly in line. There still further exists a need for an end effector which automatically locks itself to the shaft to complete the connection.